Wish, if only and hope
Wish, if only
If only means I wish. When talking about other people, we use he wishes, they wish, etc. We use if only when we feel something very strongly. Otherwise we use I wish.
If only is more emphatic tha I wish.
I wish/If only + past simple
Things we'd like to be different now or in the future.
If only I were a bit taller. I'd be in the team.
I wish I could be there for you tomorrow.
I wish I lived in a villa overlooking the sea. (I don't live in a villa overlooking the sea now.)
If only it was the end of the summer term! (But it isn't - it's the middle of the summer term.)
We can use was and were.
I wish/If only I/he/she/it was (more informal)
I wish/If only I/he/she/it were (more formal)
I wish/If only + past perfect
Things that happened in the past an we regret.
I wish I hadn't quit my job two years ago.
If only we hadn't wasted all that money.
He wishes he had completed the project by the deadline. (He didn't complete the project by the deadline - perhaps if he had completed it, he would have been promoted.)
I wish/If only + would
Things that annoy us from other people. We'd like them to change or stop.
I wish you would stop biting your nails. I hate it!
If only it would stop raining! It's been ten days!
I wish that terrible noise would stop. (I can't make it stop and I want it to stop.)
If only you'd do the washing up occasionally!
If only my friends wouldn't keep asking me to go out with them when I'm trying to revise!
Do not use wish + would to wish about yourself. Do not say I wish I would.
Hope
We use hope when we want something to happen or to be true.
I hope you make lots of friends when you are abroad.
She hopes her parents will enjoy themselves on their world cruise.
Hope + present/future
We use hope + present/future tense with a future meaning, especially when the subject of the two clauses is different.
I hope you make lots of friends when you are abroad.
Hope + infinitive
We often use hope + infinitive when there is only one subject to the sentence:
She hopes to work in the field of entertainment after college.
Hope + past
We can use hope when we want something to be true about the past, but we don't know if it is true.
I hope you had a brilliant honeymoon.